The California Air
Resources Board (CARB) staff is wrestling with
the truth that construction equipment isn’t
polluting as much as they thought it would, and
their off-road and on-road diesel regulations
are largely unnecessary.
Stop hidden taxes
Last year, the Legislature increased taxes by $12.5 billion. Now they want more. We need
to stop politicians from using this loophole to pass hidden taxes and force them to control the wasteful spending.
The Legislature should cut spending and live within its means. Roughly one third of state agencies are mostly or entirely funded by fees, including the California Air Resources Board and the Contractors State License Board.
Sure-fire rules
Truck fires have
taken on a greater significance as they become
more comprehensive and catastrophic.
Where
once a few wires would burn up and the handheld
fire extinguisher would deal with the problem,
now the truck burns to the frame rails.
 |
PLUS |
 |
CTC authorizes local design-build projects In April, the California Transportation
Commission (CTC) authorized two regional
projects to move forward under California's new
Design-Build Program.
The state budget dance begins
Schwarzenegger has released the May Revision of his 2010-11 budget. The revision proposes massive cuts to core social service programs.
Independent contractors in the construction industry
Recently,
“random” audits by EDD and DOL regarding
independent contractors have risen greatly.
Construction contractors are singled out with
onerous standards beyond those of other
industries.
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AND MORE! |
|
Get ready for monthly truck audits
If you
have
over-the-road
drivers in
your
vocational
trucks, you
need to know
about the
Comprehensive
Safety
Analysis
2010
(CSA2010).
It will
change how
you manage
drivers and
trucks –
that’s if
you will be
able to
operate
trucks at
all. The
program,
from the
Federal
Motor
Carrier
Safety
Administration,
is a whole
new way to
look at
roadside
inspection,
enforcement
and crash
data that
will result
in a monthly
safety
rating
for the
trucking
side of the
business and
– for the
first time –
for those
who drive
them.
Previously,
trucking
companies
were audited
infrequently,
if at all.
From
November,
California
will join
several
pilot states
in
implementing
CSA2010.
Under the
program, the
safety data
will be
aggregated
into seven
categories
dubbed the
Behavioral
Analysis and
Safety
Improvement
Categories:
● Unsafe
Driving –
Operation of
commercial
trucks by
drivers in a
dangerous or
careless
manner.
Examples:
Speeding,
reckless
driving,
improper
lane change,
and
inattention.
● Fatigued
Driving –
Operation of
trucks by
drivers who
are ill,
fatigued, or
in
non-compliance
with the
Hours-of-Service
regulations.
This
BASIC
includes
violations
of
regulations
pertaining
to logbooks,
and
management
of truck
driver
fatigue.
Example
Violations:
Hours of
service
and
operating a
truck while
ill or
fatigued.
● Driver
Fitness –
Operation of
trucks by
drivers
who are
unfit to
operate a
truck due to
lack of
training,
experience
or medical
qualifications.
Examples:
Failure to
have a valid
and
appropriate
commercial
driver’s
license and
being
medically
unqualified
to operate a
truck.
● Controlled
Substances/Alcohol
– Operation
of trucks by
drivers who
are impaired
due to
alcohol,
illegal
drugs, and
misuse of
prescription
or
over-the-counter
medications.
● Vehicle
Maintenance
– Failure to
properly
maintain a
truck.
Example
Violations:
Brakes,
lights and
other
mechanical
defects, and
failure
to make
required
repairs.
● Cargo
Related –
Failure to
properly
prevent
shifting
loads,
spilled or
dropped
cargo,
overloading,
and unsafe
handling of
hazardous
materials
on a truck.
Examples:
Improper
load securement,
cargo
retention,
size and
weight, and
hazardous
material
handling.
● Crash
Indicator –
Histories or
patterns of
crash
involvement,
frequency
and
severity.
Because of
the
frequency of
the reports,
they will
quickly
highlight
areas where
fleets and
drivers
are
deficient.
Resulting
safety
ratings thus
will be
based not on
overall
safety
performance
but on
individual
categories.
Failing in a
couple of
categories
– traffic
and
out-of-service
violations –
will
bring an
unsatisfactory
rating
regardless
of how
you perform
in the other
six. An
unsatisfactory
rating will
bring
warnings,
fines and
finally an
outright ban
on
operations.
You need to
know
about
CSA2010. Try
http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/
or call the
California
Trucking
Association
for
seminars to
bring you up
to speed.
